Troop 892
By Sean C. Wright Neeley
We had them right where we wanted them. The sergeant’s plan of attack had been perfect, at first. We dive-bombed, and drove the beings – one-hundred times as big as us – screaming and swatting the air as they took cover in their barracks. We could see their huge, terrified eyes through the screen door, looking out at us as we dipped and swooped in the air, daring them to come out for more. They were bigger, but there were more of us. We thought we won.
Until.
Bigger beings arrived. The smaller ones inside the cabin called out to them. We started after the the bigger beings, but they ran away too fast for us to catch them. The bigger beings returned, all armed with cans of gas. They sprayed them at my men, and stopped them in mid-flight. They fell, and the bigger beings stomped them to death. I got one in the arm. It cursed loudly, and brushed me off. It tried to spray me with the deadly gas, and missed. I flew away, like a coward, and watched the carnage from a nearby bush.
Next came our home’s destruction, after all my comrades were dead. A bigger being knocked down our nest that had been anchored to the cabin porch’s ceiling, and stomped it, too, before discarding it. Our eggs! Our larvae! I am Troop 892’s only survivor, but more will come, and bring retribution to these big, horrible things. We are wasps, and we don’t give up that easily.
This short story is loosely based on a real-life incident of mine. I went to Girl Scout camp in my youth, and my troop was unlucky enough to get a cabin with a wasp nest on the porch. They must have been dormant when we arrived that evening, because we didn’t notice. They went crazy the next morning when we returned from an activity, dive-bombing us and driving us into the cabin. We were trapped for a good 30 minutes. Adults (our troop leaders) eventually came & rescued us with insecticide and a whole lot of bravery.
I wondered how the wasps felt, simply trying to defend their home. Voila! The concept of this story. Our troop number really was 892.
I’m pleased to announce the release of my 8th book, Skoll’s Diary.
Africans and African Americans left Earth in 1900, and went to another planet in The Milky Way to escape mistreatment…
It’s now the year 3005 on that terraformed planet. We get a peek into the life of a bright and sensitive teenaged boy, Skoll, through his journal. He loves his world, but is curious about life on Earth. Then suddenly, an epic event casts him in the middle of a difficult decision. The fate of the planet’s community is in his hands.
Get the book here. I’d appreciate your leaving a review if you read it. Thanks in advance!
Seanarchy 